EL CHICANo Weekly
Vol 62, NO. 24
April 03, 2025
SBVC Bids Farewell to Liberal Arts Building After 55 Years, Birthplace of Dreamers Resource Center
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Free Symphony Tickets Now Available to San Bernardino Library Card Holders Pg. 4 PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL
San Bernardino Valley College President Dr. An attendee writes a farewell message on the A former professor sharing a story about how Gilbert Contreras speaks at the podium about wall of San Bernardino Valley College’s hisshe grew up in the neighborhood that she the psychology of space. toric Liberal Arts Building. ended up teaching in, at SBVC.
By Manny Sandoval
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Loma Linda Pediatrician Urges Small Changes as Food Deserts and Processed Foods Harm Inland Kids Pg. 5
an Bernardino Valley College commemorated 55 years of its iconic Liberal Arts Building on March 26 with a celebration that honored the past, embraced the future, and centered the building’s lasting role as a symbol of learning, community, and equity. Built in 1970, the Liberal Arts Building has served as an academic anchor on cam-
pus for more than half a century. It will be demolished in August 2025 to make way for a new facility, with classes continuing in the existing structure through the end of the Spring 2025 semester. The ceremony featured a first-of-its-kind virtual reality experience developed by SBVC’s Marketing Department. Attendees had the opportunity to don headsets and walk through a digital recreation of the building, including its open courtyard and
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By Christopher Salazar
anti-Blackness.
A
“There is pervasive antiBlack racism in schools that Black students are experiencing, and it's a problem, and we need to really call for Black and brown solidarity,” Lanae Norwood, the principal of L. Norwood and Associates, said in an interview.
n outpouring of support for the 14-yearold girl involved in a classroom fight at Jehue Middle School gathered last Wednesday, March 26, as clergy leaders and roughly 75 community members congregated at the 16th Street Seventh Day Adventist Church in San Bernardino. Residents and activists demanded the Rialto Unified School District (RUSD) commit to transformative reforms to ensure the safety, dignity and educational success for all youth—especially Black children.
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“This is more than just a building,” said SBVC President Dr. Gilbert Contreras, who opened the ceremony with a land acknowledgment. “San Bernardino Valley College acknowledges that the land in which our facilities are sited is the ancestral territory of the Serrano people. Our
Clergy Leaders, Community Gather to Support Jehue Student and Demand Change
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the Dreamers Resource Center (DRC), located just inside.
PHOTO CHRIS SALAZAR Pastor Sam Casey of Congregations Organizing for Prophetic Engagement speaking to the community at the 16th Street Seventh Day Adventist Church in San Bernardino on March 26, 2025.
According to numerous residents, the RUSD is failing its students. This sentiment has gained traction after violence between two 14-year-olds erupted in class last month, with footage of the incident going viral. To many, the primary issue is poor leadership. To others, the incident evinces
During the community gathering, the family’s attorney Na’Shaun L. Neal recounted the details of the March 10 classroom fight, specifying the leadup to the incident, highlighting the unnamed substitute teacher’s inaction and the racially charged atmosphere. “The teacher fell asleep at the wheel,” Neal said. “This shy, intelligent, young, Black girl walked to a class and it was chaos.” Neal explained that the teacher failed to notice that an RUSD Fight cont. next pg.